in love with the kindergarten teacher
by Furtively Lethargic
Summary: A cute teacher at his niece's kindergarten? Check. (daddy!au; all human)


quinn/rashel; romance, daddy!au, fluff; pg-13; all human  
**a/n: and so i write.**** lamia vampress, thanks for bringing back the old feels ilu ahuhuhu; this ended up to be a Christmas fic dayum- Thanksgiving isn't here yet  
WARNING: possibly awkward quinn and rashel sorry i had to (and a little-too-shrewd 5-year-old?); not beta'd**

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"Mel, sweetie," Quinn called as he placed the tupperware container into a pink Hello Kitty lunchbox. "We're going to be late for school!"

"I'm coming," yelled little Melanie, running towards the kitchen-slash-dining room.

"Did you brush your teeth?" he asked, handing her the lunchbox.

Mel grinned widely to show her pearly whites. "I brushed my hair and put lotion on too!"

"And you have everything you need for school, right?"

"Pencils and papers and crayons," answered Mel happily. She patted the back of her backpack with her free hand to display that she checked everything. "What did you make me for lunch?"

"You'll see," Quinn replied with a wink. He began ushering her out of the apartment they lived in. "I tried one of my new recipes."

Locking the door behind them, Quinn took her small hand in his and started to lead her to the parking lot. He tucked Melanie in her car seat and slipped into the driver's seat once they located his Honda civic.

"What time are you picking me up, Uncle-Daddy?" Melanie asked.

"I'll try to be there early," Quinn hummed, driving out of his parking space.

Uncle-Daddy was a name that Melanie invented two months ago, when she started to feel comfortable around Quinn. Her parents, Quinn's sister and brother-in-law, were part of the tragic plane crash that occurred during the landing in Europe. They were supposed to finish some business deals over there, but fate wasn't on their side it appeared.

Anyway, Mel was only five years old- and a hella strong one at that! Quinn feared that he wouldn't be able to take care of her, but he didn't want his step-dad to have his filthy, old hands on the innocent being either.

Melanie proved to be a great child; listening to Quinn despite only having met him a few times prior to their current living arrangements, positively moving on with her loss even though she was scarred tremendously- she somewhat resembled the strength that Quinn acquired when he was sent to orphanage around her age.

"What do you want for dinner?" Quinn asked.

He wanted to take care of her, to love her dearly and never leave her side. He wanted to give her the things that he lost; Quinn wanted her to be happy and to have a good parental guide by her side. He wanted to be her everything, as she was to him, and he would do _anything_ that he could possibly do to make her world. (He hoped that he wasn't spoiling her too much.)

"I want the red chicken!"

"Uh, do you mean the orange chicken?"

"Yeah!" giggled Mel. "That one with the rice from the place downtown!"

"China Wok," stated Quinn. He wiggled his eyebrows at the young one sitting behind him. "Fancy tastes you have there."

She merely giggled more.

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"Ms. Jordan, good morning," Quinn greeted as he and his niece entered the kindergarten.

Beautiful as always, Rashel Jordan turned around and brushed her dark hair out of her eyes (her beautiful, amazing, emerald eyes- _sighs dreamily_). "Good morning, Mr. Quinn." She smiled brighter at the young girl. "Hi, Melanie. How was your weekend?"

"It was cool! Uncle-Daddy took me to a zoo," she gushed excitedly.

"Sounds awesome," Rashel replied, putting her hands on her knees as she slightly bent down to Mel's height. "I want to hear more about it. But first, go put your things in your cubby. Class is about to start."

"Okay," Mel nodded her head. She turned and tugged at the end of Quinn's suit; immediately, Quinn bent down and Melanie placed a kiss on her uncle's cheek. "See you later, Uncle-Daddy!"

"Be good in school, okay?" he told her, gently ruffling her dark hair. "And eat your lunch."

"What time will you pick her up?" Rashel asked him, both individuals straightening out from their bent positions.

"I'll probably be a little late," Quinn answered, pushing his hands in his pockets. "I've got lots of things to do today, but I'll do my best to get here in time."

"It's not a problem if she stays here longer," Rashel told him with a (breathtaking) smile. "I understand that you have many things going on, and I really don't mind having her here."

Quinn sent her a disarming quirk of the lips. "Thank you very much, Ms. Jordan."

Her eyes smiled and his heart thudded weirdly. "It's not a problem at all, Mr. Quinn."

There was a minuscule pause; neither wanted to leave, but they didn't want to admit it. The clock ticked and Quinn broke his eye contact with the exotic teacher before him.

"Guess I'll see you later."

"See you in the afternoon, Mr. Quinn."

With one last wave, Quinn hurried out of the kindergarten- along with a fast-beating heart.

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_5:12 P.M._

"Ah, shitshit_shit_," Quinn muttered to himself while he jumped out of his car.

He was exactly two hours, fifteen minutes, and forty-five seconds late. He truly attempted to be at the kindergarten on time; but businesses and meetings had been piling up recently and it was getting progressively harder to take care of little Melanie.

Bursting into the kindergarten with a disheveled appearance, Quinn puffed out some air when he saw Melanie curled up on a fluffy carpet, hugging a huge pillow. Rashel was nowhere in sight, and he was ready to just take his niece away when-

"You're finally here." Her voice startled him out of his thoughts, and Quinn looked over his shoulder, towards a smiling kindergarten teacher. She wasn't wearing the apron he saw her wearing this morning, and he had to discipline his eyes to prevent them from examining farther below (ever since he started bringing Melanie to kindergarten, Quinn began his _Practice of Discipline_).

"Sorry I'm later than usual," Quinn apologized.

Rashel gave him a half-smile. "Not the latest you've been."

Quinn blinked and his lips opened in surprise. "What was that?"

"Nothing," she replied lightly. "She's a very sweet kid, you know? I'm glad you're taking good care of her."

"She is, isn't she," Quinn agreed softly, gazing at his sleeping niece. "And you think so? I feel like I'm doing a terrible job."

"You're doing a _terrific_ job, trust me," Rashel told him. She moved around the room, ridding the last table of wasted utensils. "Taking in a child despite your hectic work schedule. Very impressive."

"Thanks."

"I'm willing to help you in any way I can," she told him. He glanced at her and she accidentally looked up; Rashel was the first one to break the eye contact. "Really, Mr. Quinn-"

"Call me Quinn," he interjected.

She was about to say _And call me Rashel_, but she didn't want to be unprofessional. Like, what if they started to get used to calling each other without the _miss_ or _mister_? Her boss would surely smell something fishy.

"But, yes, just ask for my help and I'll absolutely assist you in caring for Mel."

"I'll keep that in mind," Quinn replied, gently bringing Melanie into his arms. "Well, I should get going now. I'll see you tomorrow, Ms. Jordan."

Rashel smiled again, biting her tongue as she waved at his back. She was going to ask him out for coffee, but perhaps that wouldn't be happening.

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"You're going to Ms. Rashel's home tonight, okay?" Quinn said to Melanie two months later, on a cold Wednesday morning.

Work had been ridiculously crazy in the past two months and he had had Rashel's help for about six times during that time span now.

"Really?" she asked eagerly. Quinn pouted a little.

"Is it just me or do you like spending your time with her more than your Uncle-Daddy?" Quinn teased.

"I love Uncle-Daddy but I love Ms. Rashel, too," she attempted to explain through her thick scarf. "Ms. Rashel understands my girl problems! Uncle-Daddy won't understand a thing."

"Wh-what _girl problems_?" Quinn asked in amused-disbelief. "You're too young to have _girl problems_!"

"No, I'm not," Mel sang as she hopped over a puddle on the pavement. "And Ms. Rashel promised me that we were going to watch Barbie movies the next time I stay over at her house. Uncle-Daddy doesn't have Barbie movies."

"I can buy you some for Christmas," he replied, smiling.

"But you're not Santa," Mel squealed as Quinn scooped her in his arms, softly tickling her sides. He set her into her car seat as soon as they reached his car.

"I'll call Santa and tell him about your wishes," he said, sliding into the car. "What do you want for Christmas anyway? Barbie dolls?"

"Noo," she giggled, watching her uncle adjust the rearview mirror. "I want to have Christmas dinner with my two most favorite people in the entire world!"

At that, Quinn paused. _Two most favorite people_? Her parents? But . . . hadn't he already explained to her that they weren't coming back? Didn't he already tell her that she would see them when got older, when she was going up into the sky, towards the light?

Didn't he tell her that? Or did she choose to deny everything and just pretend that everything was alright, that her parents weren't dead?

"Melanie, sweetheart . . . who are those two people?"

"You and Ms. Rashel," she giggled wholeheartedly. "Mommy and Daddy can't be with me, but at least you and Ms. Rashel can!"

"I'll invite Ms. Rashel over, if she doesn't have any plans," Quinn told her, smiling to himself.

"Call Santa and let him know about it! He'll make sure that Ms. Rashel will eat with us on that day!"

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"Oh, she's so adorable," Daphne Childs, one of few close friends, cooed.

"Right?" Rashel smiled. She was busy preparing dinner for herself, Melanie, and Daphne.

"Thank you," Mel mumbled shyly.

"And she's so polite," squealed Daphne. She leaned over the table, her chin in her palms as she gazed adoringly at Mel (thankfully, Melanie welcomed the attention because she only got this kind of attention from her Uncle-Daddy and Ms. Rashel). "Can I have her?"

"No way," Melanie shook her head. "I'm Uncle-Daddy's and Ms. Rashel's." (Imagine the surprise that took on Rashel's and Melanie's faces when the five-year-old said that.)

"That sounds great, too," laughed Daphne, sweeping her blonde hair onto her left shoulder. "I'm glad I'm not the only one shipping this couple."

"Shut- be _quiet_, Daphne," Rashel whispered-yelled.

"So does your Uncle-Daddy talk about Rashel- I mean, _Ms._ Rashel- a lot?" Daphne interrogated. This was, to be frank, her main reason why she wanted to come over at her friend's apartment: to ask the kid about Quinn (whom she had heard about countless of times from her best friend).

"Mel, just ignore Daph-"

"He talks about her a _looot_," Melanie replied, brown eyes watching Rashel.

She turned her back on the sagacious females and resumed cooking their dinner. "I can't hear anything."

"Did he invite you for Christmas dinner yet?"

"_What_?" Rashel asked in astonishment, nearly losing her grip on the spatula. Quinn didn't mention anything about Christmas dinner. Or dinner-anything, for that matter.

"Whoa, there; Christmas dinner?" Daphne asked.

"We want to invite you over for Christmas Eve," Melanie stated, dancing a little in her seat as the radio put on a holiday jingle.

"Please tell me that you really discussed this with your uncle," sighed Rashel. "I don't want to suddenly barge in on Christmas Eve without him knowing."

"He knows," chirped Melanie. "We talked about it before he dropped me off. He must've forgotten to invite you. He was in a rush."

The idea sort of bummed her; Quinn forgetting to invite her for Christmas dinner- but maybe he didn't _want_ to invite her. Her heart tried in vain not to shed any tears yet Rashel couldn't help but feel sad because of that.

"I'll see," Rashel told Melanie. "On a brighter note, Daphne brought Barbie CDs!"

"Crap, I knew I was forgetting something," Daphne snapped her fingers.

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_9:45 P.M_.

A few knocks on her door got Rashel falling off the sofa.

Daphne left an hour ago because she had work tomorrow (like they all did), leaving Rashel and Melanie to enjoy the "late-night" shows on the television. Rashel couldn't remember when she closed her eyes, however, she was pretty glad that Melanie was already sleeping when Quinn began knocking on her door.

"Sorry again," Quinn apologized as soon as she opened the door for him.

She stepped aside and welcomed him, albeit groggily. "Not a problem. We had fun."

"I can see," he chuckled, eyeing the Barbie movie cases neatly stacked on top of one another beside the sofa. He entered the apartment, instantly heading for his niece. He gently carried her in his arms and thanked the sleepy teacher once again.

Rashel waited for him to say something about the Christmas dinner; but he didn't. In fact, all he said was, _Thank you very much, Rashel. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night._

His words were curt, unlike his tone (which was warm and just- unf, nice, okay), and it somewhat pained her chest that he didn't mention anything about a Christmas dinner.

But whatever, right? Teachers and their students' guardians should _never_ be this close anyway. Right?

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It felt nice not having to go to work today, Quinn thought as he leisurely made Melanie's lunch the next morning.

"-and she made me omelettuce!"

"Ome . . . _lettuce_?" repeated Quinn in confusion. "What's that?"

"You know," Mel paused, swallowing big bites of sausages ("_Mel, eat slower. It's not good for your digestion_."), "when you wrap scrambled eggs around vegetables?"

"Oh, you mean _omelettes_," Quinn nodded to himself. "Sounds delicious."

"It was! We should tell her to bring some when she comes to our Christmas dinner!"

"Fuck, I forgot to invite her," Quinn exhaled loudly, accidentally letting the f-bomb slip.

"_Uncle-Daddy_! That's a bad word! Why did you say that?"

"Aw shit, sorry about-"

"UNCLE-DADDY!"

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"So, Christmas dinner," Quinn said when he saw Rashel.

She blinked innocently, although Quinn had a feeling that Mel had already told her about that (and probably everything else that Quinn discussed with Mel about the kindergarten teacher). "I'm sorry?"

"Will you come- I mean, Mel and I cordially invite you over our place for Christmas dinner. Er, Christmas Eve, sorry," Quinn stuttered. Seriously, of all the times he had to stutter- it would be the time when he was asking _the_ Rashel Jordan out. Seriously_seriously_.

Oddly enough, she must have found that enticing because she covered her lips with the back of her hand and laughed softly. "Is it too early to confirm that I'm going?"

"No, not at all," Quinn answered. His shoulders were losing the apprehension they were holding and his lips relaxed into a warm smile. "In fact, it's perfect."

"Uncle-Daddy, class has to start so you need to go," Mel said from behind Rashel. The latter viciously fought the blush forming on her cheeks and waved at Quinn.

"Alright, sweetie. Uncle-Daddy will see you later, okay?" Quinn said. He waved at his niece and at Rashel, flashing his pearly whites and feeling like the he could fly to the moon and back.

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_Christmas Eve_

"Uncle-Daddy, you look fine," Melanie giggled. She patted Quinn's leg (she was a short kid) and skipped around the apartment. Quinn forced himself away from the mirror, after restyling his hair a million times. In a dark gray sweater and a good pair of jeans, Quinn would say that he looked decent.

"I can't wait to have some omelettuce."

"It's ome_lettes_, sweetie."

"I wonder if she would like the gift we bought her!" Mel continued, ignoring her uncle's correction.

"I'm certain she will; after all, you picked it," he answered. He didn't tell Melanie about the other present he had for the green-eyed teacher, afraid that Mel would accidentally blow his cover.

Three knocks on the door and brief hugs and greetings later, Rashel found herself in the kitchen-slash-dining room.

"Sorry if it's a little cramped in here," Quinn excused their setting. With two adults and one child, it _did_ seem a little crowded to Quinn- although he was probably just not used to it. When Mel first moved in with him, he felt that it was a little cramped too- and then he got used to it.

"It's fine," Rashel smiled. She placed the omelettes on the table. "I didn't know that Mel loved omelettes."

"Only yours," Quinn said as he finished up preparing their main course: baked potatoes with melted cheese and bacon. "She only likes your omelettes; wouldn't even try mine."

"A picky-eater, isn't she," Rashel laughed to herself.

"Can we eat now? I'm hungry," Melanie announced, climbing onto a chair next to Rashel. There was one chair left and Quinn slid into his seat after receiving the probing glares from his niece.

"Did you feed her before this?" teased Rashel.

Quinn made a face and jokingly said, "I must've forgotten."

They all started digging in; omelettes and baked potatoes never tasted this well. Holiday music played in the background, along with the evening news that was being displayed on the television. It filled the comfortable silence surrounding the three unusually fated individuals, creating a very nice and desirable atmosphere.

It wasn't until after dinner when things began to look better (relationship-wise) for Rashel and Quinn.

"Presents time!" announced Mel.

She sprinted towards the living room, sitting just beside the Christmas tree. The presents they all had (excluding Quinn's surprise-present for the beautiful teacher) were wrapped prettily underneath the tree in holiday colors and glitter. Quinn couldn't resist taking a picture to capture the moment- he will definitely send a picture to his mom.

"Let's give Melanie her presents first," said Rashel. She could see the enthusiasm pulsing in the young one's veins, and so she pulled up her present and handed it to her.

"Wait, don't open it yet," Quinn said, halting his niece mid-tear (?). He switched his camera's settings to _Video_."I want to take a video of this."

"Why don't you wait until you get all your presents before opening them?" Rashel suggested.

"Good idea," sighed Mel, as if to say _Fine, I'll wait just a _little_ longer_.

"Okay, my turn," Quinn said, crawling towards the tree and taking his present for his niece. "Here you go, Mel." He was all smiley-smiley when his niece hugged it securely to her chest. "Wait, hold on." He scrambled back onto his feet and initiated the video. "Okay, go ahead and open your presents, sweetie."

Melanie eagerly pushed the wrappers apart, tearing them with her stubby fingers. Her expression was of the utmost seriousness Quinn had ever seen her wore and he refused to ruin the moment by laughing out loud.

His niece gasped, opening Rashel's present first, and showing it off to the world, waving it in the air before trapping the stuffed toy in her chest.

"Thank you, Rashel," she sang, burying her face into the Hello Kitty stuffed toy.

"You're absolutely welcome, Mel," she smiled. "Now, go open your uncle's gift."

"Okay," Mel put her Hello Kitty stuffed toy aside, and began opening her uncle's present. She looked up, grinning cheekily at her uncle. "I thought you said that you were buying this for someone else!"

"That would be the only time that Uncle-Daddy will ever lie to you," Quinn said, smile evident in his voice. "I promise."

"Thank you, Uncle-Daddy," Mel squealed, gazing in awe at the coloring books and colored pencils that her uncle bought her. He ended the video and exchanged glances with his niece.

"We have a present for you, too, Rashel!" Melanie exclaimed, crawling- similar to Quinn- towards the tree. She pulled the last gift from underneath and carried it to her kindergarten teacher. "Thanks for everything! By the way," Mel leaned close and stage-whispered to her, "I picked it. Uncle-Daddy was the one who paid."

Rashel laughed at the cuteness that the five-year-old displayed, eyes looking over her head and meeting the dark yet warm eyes of John Quinn. "Thank you guys," she said.

"Open it," Quinn urged her. Melanie jumped on her toes, also encouraging her to open it.

"Alright, alright," Rashel said, untying the ribbon and carefully plucking out the wrapper.

"Just rip it open!"

"I guess you're the type to reuse holiday wrappers?" joked Quinn.

Rashel smiled to herself. "Actually, I _am_ the type to do that." Quinn chuckled to himself, entertained by everything about the kindergarten teacher.

The present was simple, a big white teddy bear with a red heart in the middle that said _xoxo_ in a black font. She beamed lovingly. "Aww, this is so cute! I love it!"

Melanie cheered and jumped on the sofa beside Rashel, snuggling close to her teacher as she began telling the story of how she and her uncle found the bear.

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"She's asleep," Quinn laughed softly three hours later. It was only 10:28 P.M., however, it was past his niece's bedtime.

"I should get going," Rashel said, suppressing a yawn while she leaned on the wall near the front door.

"Thank you for coming," he said. The small box in the back of his pocket felt like it was burning a hole through his jeans. "It was really fun having you here. We should do this again."

Rashel smiled, pushing herself off the wall. "Thanks for having me. I had a lot of fun- I would definitely come and celebrate stuff like these with you guys again." Her bag was feeling heavier and heavier by the second. She wondered if it was because of the gift she got him (which she hadn't given to him _yet_).

"So-"

"Um-"

They stopped and shyly caught each other's gazes.

"Well, before you go," Quinn started, pulling something from the back pocket of his jeans, "I just wanted to say thank you very much for helping us- especially me- out during the hard times. You're a very reliable and caring woman and I wish you the best." He gently grabbed her soft hands and placed a small box into her hands.

"I, um- I have something to give you, too," Rashel said, pulling out a somewhat bigger box from her bag. "I wanted to say thank you very much for taking such good care of Mel even though, as I've mentioned many times before, you're usually busy with everything else in your life. And, yeah, that's just really awesome."

Quinn laughed a little and accepted her gift. He tucked it underneath his arm while Rashel placed his gift inside his bag.

"I'll see you when break ends?"

"How about some coffee over the week?" Quinn answered. "You're not busy, are you?"

"Not at all," she shook her head slightly. "I won't mind."

"Tomorrow at lunch. Sounds good? I'll pick you up," Quinn said, refraining himself from babbling.

"Sounds good," she breathed, face flushing.

It wasn't until he pulled her closer to press his lips chastely against hers that her whole face (and neck) felt like it was dipped in jalapeno sauce.

"See you tomorrow," he murmured in her ear, releasing her from his arms.

"See you," Rashel said with an adorable smile.

Quinn couldn't deny that he was in love with the kindergarten teacher.

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_**end**_


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